Love and Madness Go Hand in Hand
by Nathander
Summary: [XENOSAGA] As Junior and MOMO begin to plan their first date, Shion gets an odd message from Vector. And, as usual, more crazy oddities occur because of Albedo and Virgil. JM, cK-M, SA Romance (Chapter 3 FINALLY up!)
1. Default Chapter

Love and Madness (Go Hand in Hand)  
  
Written by Nathander  
  
Welcome to my first attempt at a humor/romance fanfic, as well as my first Xenosaga fanfic. The major coupling for this fanfic is MOMO/Junior, with (heavily) implied chaos/KOS-MOS and Allen/Shion. Also, there ARE spoilers in this fanfic, so be aware of that. On top of that, there is a humorously implied homosexual relationship (Albedo/Virgil), so don't flame me for that as I don't really mean it (though I do plan on possibly someday doing a fanfic with the couple * dodges various things thrown by Albedo fans *). Anyway, on to the ficcy, after..  
  
Legal Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not a thing. I hate you all for reminding me of that.  
  
Chapter One  
  
(The Durandal-Junior's Room)  
  
"Now, let's say, theoretically, I had a crush on someone. Would you laugh at me?"  
  
"Junior, you already know I would never do that." The silver-haired boy told the (appearance-wise younger) red-haired one.  
  
"Well, let's say it wasn't theoretical. Would you laugh at me then if I told you?" he asked him again. He had wanted to get this off his chest to someone, anyone, and chaos was the one he expected to be the most trustable with this kind of thing, as well as the most kind. Still..it didn't hurt to make sure.  
  
"Again, I would NEVER laugh at you." chaos got on one knee and put a hand on the URTV's shoulder. "Love is a beautiful thing, and it's something I would never disgrace."  
  
Junior raised an eyebrow to him, due to his action. "You know, just because I look like a kid doesn't mean you have to treat me like one."  
  
chaos smiled a little. "If that's so," he said, "why do you keep going around this subject LIKE a kid?"  
  
Junior smiled back. It was one of the few times where chaos would seemingly make a joke at someone else's expense, though it was always ment in good humor. "Listen, do you want me to tell you or not?"  
  
chaos smile increased a bit, an amazingly warm and kind gesture. "You really think I, WE, don't know who it is?"  
  
He was taken aback for a moment. "We?" he said, his voice obviously surprised. "You mean, you've already told them?"  
  
chaos shook his head. For the most part, Junior was easy to talk to. When he was antsy or nervous about something, however, the child-like side of his personality (and that side's lack of logic) usually won out. "Junior, I've been here waiting for you to tell me. How could I possibly tell the others?"  
  
He sighed. "Sorry." he replied, "it's just that I never thought it was THAT.well.."  
  
"Obvious?" The silver-haired one replied.  
  
He nodded. "Yeah.." he scratched the back of his head nervously, blushing slightly. "So what should I do?"  
  
"What does your heart tell you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What does your heart tell you?" he repeated. "Whatever it tells you, Junior..that's the right path. The mind thinks about the here and now. The heart thinks more on what COULD happen, and possibly the best situation. Follow that, and there's a good chance it will happen."  
  
Junior seemingly thought about it for a moment, before lifting his head. "So I should buy her something and hope that makes her love me?"  
  
"Y..wait, what?" he had been caught off-guard by what Junior had just said.  
  
"Well, that's what my heart says."  
  
"Junior, you KNOW that isn't what will get someone to love you."  
  
The boy shrugged. "Maybe it is. ...How else could someone love someone like me?"  
  
chaos looked down at the boy, a little dismayed and taken off-guard yet again. This was a side he very rarely saw of the URTV. "How can you say that? Look around you: all of us care about you. If you can't see that, you've become pretty blind. Now, really, what is it your heart's telling you?"  
  
Once again, he just stood there in silence for a moment. "I don't know.."  
  
"That's alright. Give it time, and it'll come to you. And she'll still be there waiting for you."  
  
The boy replied, sadly this time "But MOMO won't wait forever."  
  
He smiled and put his shoulder on Junior's shoulder again. "I think you'd be surprised how long people can wait for what they want to happen and hear.  
  
(Vector Industries-Wilhelm's Office)  
  
"...and, on top of that, we want a smoked ham every dinner." The man dressed in the blue robe and facemask nudged Albedo. "Oh yeah...instead of the ham, Virgil wants realian skin."  
  
Wilhelm sighed slightly. "You two seem to be demanding a raise when you aren't even being paid."  
  
Virgil replied next. "But the point of the matter is, we should be."  
  
"For what?" Wilhelm asked, trying to hold back his growing impatience with the two. They'd been pursuing this since the events at Proto-Merkabah, about a month ago. "You" he said, pointing to Virgil "have so far done next to nothing, and you, Albedo, have gone around maiming several employees while trying to 'help' with their assignments. In fact, weren't you ordered by Margulius to report back a few weeks ago?"  
  
"Well, Margulius can screw himself, because there's no way in hell I'm going back. I want to settle down and make a life for myself."  
  
The owner of Vector just sat there for a moment before saying "No you don't. What is it you really want?"  
  
"What do you mean 'I don't'? Can you see into the heart of a man?" Albedo said, infuriated. He lifted one of his legs onto Wilhelm's desk, looking him in the eyes. "Who are you to separate the wheat from the grain, the grass from the cow?"  
  
"The grass from the cow?" Virgil asked, interrupting. "What the hell does that even mean?"  
  
"Shut up, I'm on a role! My point is, you don't know my real intentions. I want to 'settle down', or at least that's what I say, while actually extorting money from you and stealing supplies from your office."  
  
Wilhelm smiled slightly. "Are you even aware you just told me everything you had planned?"  
  
"Yes..well..you'll forget it in a minute." He said. In a quick fluid motion, he thrust his fist back and hit Wilhelm in the face. Wilhelm made no acknowledgement it had even happened.  
  
"And that was supposed to do...?" the blue-clad man said, taunting him.  
  
"What's wrong with you? Why do you always seem to have to give me the business?" he asked, infuriated at his 'partner'. "We were supposed to be in this together!"  
  
"Yes, well..I'm not certain physically assaulting our employer will help."  
  
"Then you don't know jack. Violence solves everything, because violence is cool." With that, Albedo reached to his head and began to jerk on it violently. Eventually, with enough force, his head came off. He held his head under his right arm. "See, I can tear my head off. Now THAT is cool."  
  
"No, THAT is stupid and pointless! I mean, what's it supposed to prove? 'Hey, I can tear my head off! You better be frightened, or else I'll mutilate myself!"  
  
Wilhelm cleared his throat noisily. "If you two are quite done, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave."  
  
Albedo remembered his original target and turned back to Wilhelm, snarling. "Oh, we'll leave! We'll leave for good! And we'll become a rock band! In fact, we'll be the baddest rock band this side of...Baddy McBad Town! And that shall be reflected in our name: Badass Mothers 4000! Right Virgil?"  
  
"No.not really." Virgil replied casually.  
  
"Well, you are now!" he said, and seizing Virgil by the arm and forcibly dragging him along with him.  
  
(The Durandal-Outside MOMO's Room)  
  
"And how long has he been doing this?" Shion asked out of curiousity.  
  
"About a hour and a half, at the very least." The cyborg beside her replied.  
  
Ziggy had been the first to notice Junior prowling around outside MOMO's room. His instincts had, at first, been to confront him, though he had finally been able to subdue his initial combat instincts by convincing them that Junior was, by no means, a threat. Still, it had been an interesting spectacle, and had actually taken him a little to notice what it was the boy was doing. He had noticed for quite some time that the he had developed an immense amount of affection for the little Realian. In fact, he had been able to spot it right before they had entered the Song of Nephilim; that was the main reason why he had wanted the URTV to stay put. Now he found himself confronted with the boy's affection again, and this time the boy even seemed to be struggling with it. If anything, he seemed to bounce and forth between entering MOMO's room or just retreat back to his own. Ziggy had decided he wouldn't stop him, but he felt the need to continue to watch. He hadn't known, in fact, that his watch would attract others.  
  
"Poor kid. He really doesn't know what to do, does he?" Allen said sympathetically.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, we all know how well-balanced you are emotion wise." Matthews replied stubbornly. He had originally left the Elsa to collect Tony and Hammer, who were on leave. He had been wondering for easily an hour and STILL hadn't found sight of the two morons. He had finally given up and decided that, when they did show up, he'd just have to chew them up. Until then, he'd just enjoy this. "I don't see a problem here. Just open the door and talk to her, for God's sake. I thought the Little Master had more courage than this."  
  
"There's more to it than that." Allen said. "It takes a lot of courage (that I don't have, he thought) to tell someone how you feel about them."  
  
"Well, I THINK you're a goober, how's that?" Matthews said. "See? That didn't seem to take too much courage, now did it?"  
  
This current conversation was interrupted by a somewhat shrill, cutting voice. "Whatcha' doing, y'all?"  
  
The four people who had currently been watching turned around quickly towards Mary. "If it isn't to much to ask, could you be a little more quiet?" Shion asked, trying to be as polite as possible.  
  
"What fer'?" Mary asked quizzically. That's when she saw what they were watching. "Why, ah y'all spyin' there on Little Master?" she asked indignantly.  
  
"I must also request that you lower your voice some." Ziggy said. While he knew it was odd and really strayed quite a ways from his programming, but he WANTED to see this.  
  
"Why, ah most certaintly won't!" she replied, disgusted. "Y'all KNOW it's damn rude to be aspyin' on the Little Mas." She never got to finish as Matthews clapped one of his hands over her mouth.  
  
"Listen, we want to see it, and we know YOU want to see it, so how about you calm down, eh?" he said good-humoredly.  
  
While still angry at them, she had to agree. She DID want to see what it was the Little Master was going to do, and she had a pretty good idea whose room he was outside of. "Well..I suppose ah do. Anyway, where's the rest of ya?"  
  
"chaos is busy working on some of the Elsa." Matthews replied. "It's good to know that I have at least ONE hard worker on my ship."  
  
"And KOS-MOS is..well..she's really taken to exploring the ship lately." Shion said. She narrowed her eyebrows a little. "It's almost as if she's, well, exploring the ship. I know that sounds stupid..but it's like she's found some new interest in it."  
  
"What's going on?" Tony asked as Hammer and himself came towards them. Matthews immediately spun upon them and grabbed them both by the necks of their shirts.  
  
"Just WHERE the hell have you been?" Matthews asked, keeping his voice low though still showing he was angry.  
  
"Well.." Hammer said, after gulping in fright. "We were hungry, so we went to go get some lunch."  
  
"What are you morons talking about? We have food on the.." His eyes immediately went wide and he pulled the two even closer to him. "You DIDN'T.."  
  
"W..well..we didn't have the patience to go back to the ship, so we went to.." Tony began before he was cut off again.  
  
"You morons! We're not here to spend money! Why, I oughta..." he was stopped as Ziggy swiftly put his arm on his shoulder. He turned around to see what the disturbance was..and let it drop as he released Tony and Hammer.  
  
The Little Master was about to open the door to MOMO's room.  
  
(The Durandal-MOMO's Room)  
  
MOMO had just finished a nice, warm shower. She was in one of the newer rooms (under Junior's request), which now featured a shower room. She had begun to take a shower sometimes when she was sad or unhappy..or quizzical.  
  
She had, currently, been pondering something. She knew that her feelings for Junior were different than her feelings for any of the others. Whenever she was near him, she felt a gentle..tug in her chest. She had decided something that she was a little frightened of: she had fallen in love with him.  
  
'But what if he doesn't feel the same?' she asked herself. 'He thinks you're a friend, nothing more.'  
  
She sighed and began getting her clothes on, stockings first.  
  
That's when the door to her room opened.  
  
"MOMO, I.." Junior began..and immediately stopped when he noticed the young Realian was completely nude. She turned to him, her eyes wide in shock. He just stood there for a moment..before closing the door and quickly running back down the corridor.  
  
'I'm such an idiot!' he mentally retorted himself. He closed his eyes as he ran. He was, for the first time in quite awhile, near tears. 'I should have knocked! Why the hell didn't I knock? Now she'll hate me for sure! She'll hate me and she'll never forgive m..' his thoughts were stopped as he ran into some big, metal thing and immediately lost consciousness.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED..  
  
Author's Notes: Yeah, it's a short chapter, but it's a start. It's also sorta silly and weird, but I PROMISE it'll get better as time goes on. The next chapter will be MUCH longer, as well as feature more of Albedo and Virgil as the attempt to become rockstars. Wilhelm will also appear again, and Junior will finally be able to confront MOMO with his emotions (in an appropriate time and place). Anyway, the next chapter will probably be up sometime late this week or early next week. Until then, I'd appreciate it if you'd review as well. Thanks.  
  
Nathander 


	2. Love and Madness: Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
(Second Miltia)  
  
"You are such an ass doing this to us, you know that don't you?" Virgil said to his current (and hated) partner in crime.  
  
Albedo had dragged him with him to Second Miltia, which he had deemed 'The Rockin' Place that Rocked in the Places that are Known to have Rocked'. Any hope he had once had of the white-haired URTV having any shred of sanity had long diminished. Once arriving there, he had spent ALL their remaining money on a bass and an electric guitar. Albedo had been telling him about how they'd soon rise to fame and perform in stadiums. While he didn't know what HIS definition of a stadium was, Virgil was pretty sure an alleyway beside a shopping center didn't constitute as a stadium.  
  
"Greetings, pitiful beings held down by the mortal coil!" the URTV shouted out to the people entering and exiting the market, totally ignoring Virgil's comment. All he had really received so far were odd glances towards him; he decided that, if they continued, he'd have some more people to add to his 'Ass-kickin' List'. He began to strum on the electric guitar slightly, though even that showed how inexperienced he was with the instrument. "I'm Albedo the Great, and that ugly, fugly, stupid fellow in blue is my good friend and lap dog, Virgil!" By now, Virgil had to force himself from picking up his bass and cracking it over Albedo's head. "And together," he continued, "we are Badass Mothers 4000!" He began to strum a few notes on his guitar (again, quite poorly) while attempting to mimic their sounds with his mouth. "Tonight, we'd like to perform a remixed classic with new words that's always been one of my favorite rock songs, "C is for Cookie", by the Cookie Monster. Virgil, start us off!"  
  
Virgil just looked stoically at the URTV. "HELL no. There is no way I'm playing a rock song version of 'C is for Cookie'. That's just stupid, even more so than most of the crap you've pulled."  
  
The megolomaniacal man snorted back to his partner. "Oh please. Like you would have done any better."  
  
"As a matter of fact, I probably..no, CERTAINLY could have done better. First off, I wouldn't have spent all our money in fifteen minutes, so we wouldn't have to sleep in the cockpit of your mech. I don't know about you, but it's somewhat hard for me to sleep with you sitting in my lap and the smell of sweat in a cramped area."  
  
"You should just enjoy the fact that you get to be so close to a god-like creature such as I. Now, start playing!"  
  
Knowing that an argument would be pointless, he began to play what he (hoped) was the beat to "C is for Cookie". Albedo soon followed him, though the notes he played were the completely different than what Virgil was playing. Soon, Albedo began to sing, as loud as possible, his version of "C is for Cookie":  
  
"H is for Hate Crime! That's good enough for me! Because Hatred is cool and makes the world go round!" Albedo soon stopped singing and playing the guitar completely, eventually reverting to just screaming. "Behold, for your end draws nigh! Life is a wheel upon which no man can stand for long! Harvest the grain and make for yourselves a profit! A profit of blood! BLOOD DAMMIT! I vill drink your blood, as I am a vampire!" Albedo was soon quieted as a brick hit him directly in the face, (surprisingly knocking the URTV unconscious). A round of cheers was heard from the spectators.  
  
'I should just leave him here.' Virgil thought to himself. 'But he's the only one who knows how to drive that damn mech..' After only a moment more of deliberation, Virgil sighed. "C'mon, let's go Ozzy." And he lifted Albedo over his shoulder as he headed back towards the Simeon.  
  
(The Durandal-Corridor)  
  
KOS-MOS hadn't expected the being known as Junior to run into her, and it took her logic drive system a few minutes to process what had just happened. She knew these things for a fact: the boy was running from something due to fright and anxiety. However, whatever he was running from was not a being that was a threat; KOS-MOS sensed no unknown life forms upon the ship. That ment one thing: he had been running from someone they already knew, perhaps due to an argument.  
  
It hadn't taken long for several others she knew to come running around the edge of the corridor. She could easily name them all, but the one she knew she had the most connection to was Shion, who had created her. The others were Ziggy, Captain Matthews, Tony, Hammer, Allen, and Mary. "Little Master, are you all'ight?" Mary asked in concern, reaching the boy first. She thought of the Little Master as more of a brother than anything else, as did her sister Shelly.  
  
"At the speed he was running, he was knocked unconscious do to the velocity created by the propulsion of his body." KOS-MOS stated simply. In her mind, this fact should have been quite obvious; how anyone could possibly think differently would make it impossible for her logic drive to see what they seemed to see.  
  
KOS-MOS quickly reverted her attention from the group that was forming around the boy towards the edge of the corridor once more. From around it came the young Realian of their team, MOMO. Her clothes, however, looked odd on her. They were wrinkled, implying that she had put them on in haste. She was also running at a light jog. As she got closer the group, she seemingly leaped slightly in the air. Obviously, she had tripped.  
  
The firm hand of Ziggy, snatching her by the shoulder quickly stopped her decent to the ground. She looked up at the cyborg. "Thank you." She said gently. The cyborg merely nodded and let her go. She quickly went beside the (unconscious) red-haired URTV. She leaned forward over him and gently put his hand on her cheek, shaking his head slightly. He didn't move at all. "Will Junior be alright?" she asked, almost pleadingly, directing the question to the android beside her.  
  
"Affirmative." KOS-MOS replied, not exactly having believed the statement to be a question as much as it was to have been stating the truth. "After some rest, he should be fine. There is only a .0003982 chance of him having gotten a concussion." The android picked the URTV up. "I shall take him to the infirmary before heading back to the Elsa to recharge."  
  
"Can I come with you?" the little Realian asked. While she was a little embarrassed about what had just happened a minute before, she was also worried about Junior. She had never ment for him to get hurt.  
  
"I do not require company at this time."  
  
"KOS-MOS!" Shion shouted, angry and, in truth, a little shocked and dismayed. It had seemed that, once before, KOS-MOS had sympathized with MOMO. Yet, here they were again, right back to how she originally acted.  
  
"Actually," Ziggy began, "If you don't mind, MOMO, I'd like to talk to you for a minute."  
  
MOMO just looked at Ziggy for a moment before nodding her head. She didn't say anything however; while she knew Ziggy was nice, for him to ask to talk to her was actually something that was sort of new. He was usually pretty quiet, even though she knew he was her protector.  
  
As the two left for MOMO's room and KOS-MOS carried Junior to the infirmary, the floor immediately opened up to speculation. "What could've happened?" Matthews said, a little disgruntled, in all truth, that everything had gone so fast. "I mean, he ran outta there like a bat out of hell!"  
  
"Maybe he lost his nerve." Allen said casually. While he knew that probably wasn't the case, it was really the only thing he could come up with.  
  
"Maybe..but I doubt it." Shion reflected. "If he had lost his nerve, why did he lose it right in the middle of saying something?"  
  
"Well, 'aybe the Little Master just caught her at a bad time, or at least that's what I reckon." Mary added.  
  
"Probably." Hammer said, and quickly added, "Do you think we could prolong this conversation a little longer?"  
  
"Nice try." Matthews said, once again grabbing his two crew members by the scruff of their necks. He smiled coldly. "When we get back to the Elsa..oh, are you two EVER in for a heap of work."  
  
(The Elsa-AGWS Hanger)  
  
chaos had finished the work on his AGWS, as well as the others, long ago. There was, however, still something he had to wait for.  
  
That something came pretty quickly. "Are you sure what you've done is wise?" the voice of a young girl asked.  
  
He merely shut his eyes. He could easily visualize the girl without having to look at her. "I don't see anything wrong with helping the two of them. If anything, I find it rather sweet, and I'll have no part in trying to stop pure love."  
  
"How do you know it's pure? You know his past; you know he was self- serving to the extreme." She replied. Her voice, though younger than chaos', actually sounded as if she were lecturing him. "Granted, he HAS changed..a little. You're wise, chaos, one of the wisest of our order next to your brother..but even you aren't omnipotent. Surely you think there is some ulterior motive. Perhaps he's merely using the girl as a psychological crutch."  
  
"I thought there might have been..at first." He sighed as he leaned against the wall of the room. "However, when I looked into his eyes when he was talking to me earlier.he means it. He utterly and truly ment it." He opened his eyes and turned to Nephilim. "And I think it will do him quite a bit of good."  
  
"But it could hamper what NEEDS to be done." Nephilim retorted, scolding him. "You KNOW the possibilities, or at least some extent of the possibilities, and you know your brother is manipulating it so that the future that occurs will be the one that benefits him the most. And, in several of those cases, some of the members of this group WILL die. Why make their deaths more painful by having some come together in a fashion of love, one of them dying and the other surviving? You give them false hope."  
  
chaos shook his head. "That's not true. Like you said, my brother will TRY to manipulate the future to work for him. That doesn't necessarily he'll succeed." He smiled slightly. "And I think that, of any of us, those two have the best chance of surviving. Both have gone through so much, more than many of the others here. And, if they are to survive, they'll need each other." Chaos smile widened somewhat, becoming immensely gentle and friendly. "And it is pure, and it will last. I know it will."  
  
Nephilim smiled slightly, though sadly. "How can you believe in the idea of love, when the thing you've fallen in love with is incapable of expressing that emotion back?"  
  
Chaos' smile didn't wither, though he did shrug helplessly. "Maybe it's foolish..but I think that, somewhere in her, there is something there. I..could feel it since I met her the first time. I love her, yes, and maybe she won't be able to reflect it back. But.I think she will, and I think that to some extent she already has."  
  
"And if she does not?"  
  
He smiled weakly. "Then is that any reason to stop loving her? If you have love for someone, give it. And if they don't want to accept it in face to face, then keep your love but don't make it totally apparent."  
  
(The Durandal [again]-MOMO's Room)  
  
The little Realian sat on her bed. To tell the truth, she was a little..no, really nervous. While she knew Ziggy was her friend and bodyguard and he only ment the best for her, she almost felt as if she was about to go through an Inquisition.  
  
The cyborg sat down next to her. "MOMO," he asked, trying to make it so his voice could at least register SOME emotion and irritated when he found he could do it only to a minor extent, "first, could you tell me what happened?"  
  
MOMO blushed slightly and looked at the floor at her legs. "Well.." She began, her voice obviously showing that she was a little nervous, as well as shy, on the subject, "I.I had just gotten finished taking a shower, and I was getting dressed, when..well..that's when Junior opened the door. I.I guess I frightened him, because he ran away."  
  
For a few moments, Ziggy made no reply. The young Realian thought that he was mad at her. After all, she had ended up scaring one of her friends, and that ended up with him getting hurt. In truth, however, the cyborg was trying to hold back laughter. This feeling, in fact, was a complete and utter surprise to him; he thought he had gotten rid of it long ago during his surgeries to make him more inhuman. But, never the less, here it was, defying everything about his current programming. After a moment, MOMO asked "I'm sorry.."  
  
Ziggy looked at her quizzically, though his voice wouldn't register that feeling. "What do you have to be sorry about?"  
  
She had stopped blushing, and, in its place, she now looked ashamed. "I was the reason Junior ran out of my room. He got hurt because of me."  
  
The Ziggurat-Series cyborg shook his head slightly. "No, it wasn't. What happened, MOMO, was merely an odd chance of circumstances that couldn't have been prevented. Junior entered at what was an inadequate time, and he ran off when he realized that and got himself hurt by accident."  
  
"Yeah.." Her voice was getting sadder by the moment, "but..I just wish that, maybe, I should have said something to stop him. Then he wouldn't get hurt." She began to hold back sniffles, "I never wanted this to happen..now he'll never like me."  
  
She lifted her head up suddenly, noticing she had just told someone her secret, and she wasn't sure that Ziggy would be the one to totally look on it favorably. She was baffled, to say the least, when her bodyguard replied "I think he likes you just fine."  
  
She looked up at him, her expression a mix of shock and sadness. "R.really?" a pause, and then, "He won't like me anymore..not after this. He'll feel too uncomfortable about it."  
  
As if he hadn't had enough surprises for the day about his emotions, the cyborg found himself putting his arm on MOMO's shoulder to comfort her. "MOMO, this is going to be hard for me to state," he said, his voice as normal as usual and refusing to show the emotions that had begun to resurface, "but I'm going to try. When I was brought back due to the Life Recycling Act, I was devastated and filled with despair and remorse. I kept remembering things I didn't want to remember..that no person should be forced to remember or come back to.and wanted to end it. I couldn't kill myself again..I second death, at that point, wouldn't really be worth it if it was at my own hands. Instead, I was hell-bent on denying my emotions, undergoing several forms of surgery to make myself more and more like a machine, less and less human." He sighed and decided what it was he had to tell her, "This, I guess, is the point. Trying to deny your emotions, MOMO, can lead you down an even worse path..a path that you will eventually regret as you take it. I was lucky that I've become an exception to the rule. MOMO..how do you feel about Junior?"  
  
"I like him.a lot." She told him softly, beginning to gently blush again, "But I can't tell him, because he'll say no."  
  
"I think you may have missed what I said MOMO. If you really want to know.then tell him your feelings. The worst he can do in that scenario is say no, and yet you two will still be able to be friends. However, if you hide your feelings, if you refuse to come to terms with them..they'll destroy you until you let them out. Do you understand what I'm saying?"  
  
MOMO just sat quietly for a minute or two, before looking back up at the cyborg, a smile having come to her face, and her voice full of her usual perkiness. "Yes!" she said, finally understanding what she had to do. She hopped off the bed and ran towards the door; she intended to be by Junior as soon as possible, hopefully right when he woke up. As she reached the door, however, she turned back around, ran to Ziggy, and hugged him across the waist. "Thank you daddy!" she said happily before she ran back to the door.  
  
Ziggy, meanwhile, remained seated on the bed. While his external appearances didn't show it, he was, for the first time in quite awhile, shocked. Finally, he was able to say to himself in the secluded room, "MOMO..what did you just call me?"  
  
(Vector Industries-Wilhelm's Office)  
  
After the whole affair with Albedo and Virgil, he was glad to finally have some good news. His license had just come in.  
  
"Sir, it will be much easier to move the desk." one of the employees who he had sent in to help him rearrange his office stated, "if you weren't laying on it."  
  
Wilhelm laid his head back farther to get a better look at the man. "Tell me, what's your name?"  
  
"My name, sir?" the man exclaimed, bewildered. "I'm Henry Quinstin, sir."  
  
"Well, Quinstin, do you like being employed?"  
  
"Errr..yes sir."  
  
"Then may I suggest you shut your mouth before you lose that privilege?"  
  
The employee just sighed and got back to moving the desk.  
  
Wilhelm turned his head towards his most trusted employee. He had known him for quite awhile, though he was careful not to use his name in public. "You've been awfully quiet." He stated. "That's quite usually of you."  
  
"I was thinking, sir, that maybe this isn't such a good idea." The red- cloaked man said.  
  
He sighed. He had gone over this with him several times before. "I have a license to hunt man, and I plan to use it."  
  
"Well..could you at least give the event a friendlier name, instead of just naming it 'The Thing where I hunt your ass down'?"  
  
"I believe that the bluntness of the title will keep people from mistaking it for something safe."  
  
"Wilhelm, how could anyone mistake anything where you hunt them down for sport as being safe."  
  
"Simply." He replied with a slight smile, "People are idiots. Watch." He hoped off his desk and opened the door to his office. He pointed to one of the people in the room beyond and shouted "Hey! You! Come to my private mansion Saturday so I can hunt!"  
  
The employee shrugged and said "Okay."  
  
Wilhelm closed the door and grinned at the red-cloaked man. "See? By the way, have that man fired for failing to address me as sir."  
  
The red-cloak man would have sighed in exasperation, but he had learned to hold it in to some extent. "Either way, sir, don't you think that you should at least make it seem far by making at least two of your quarry Vector employees so that the media, who will get wind of this, won't attack you too severely?"  
  
"Your right. Let's use Allen and Shion."  
  
"Sir? Are you sure that's wise? After all, they are two of our most valued employees."  
  
"You told me to pick someone. They were the ones that first came to mind. Who do I kill? Allen and Shion. It's like a word association game."  
  
Finally, he said, defeated "Yes sir.."  
  
(The Durandal-Infirmary)  
  
The first thing he saw was a gentle sliver of pink, and then his eyes closed again. 'Pink.pink?' he thought to himself. His eyes opened and closed several more times before they fully opened and he got to see the full picture.  
  
The Realian smiled down at him gently. "Are you feeling any better?"  
  
He just nodded slightly. "Yeah..though my head still hurts quite a bit." He smirked goofily, "I guess that'll teach me to enter your room without knocking."  
  
MOMO giggled slightly. Then, at the same time, they both said, "Listen, I.."  
  
Again, they both went silent. MOMO nodded for him to go ahead, and he complied. "Well, I." he began, struggling for the correct words and blushing slightly, "MOMO, I.it's hard to say. Ever since I met you, I've been.well..happy. And I don't mean the normal happiness I usually have, I mean.HAPPY, like.like.some sort of inner peace." He clenched his fist under the sheet of the infirmary bed, getting angry at himself for floundering so much. "I mean, whenever I'm near you, there's this.gentle tugging in my chest. It's not a bad feeling either; in fact, it's probably the greatest I've ever experienced. It.it makes me feel so light and free.." He turned his head away slightly, the blushing beginning to get worse, "What I'm trying to say is..MOMO, I.I like you. A lot. And..I.I don't want to be apart from you..I want to be with you as long as I can."  
  
He closed his eyes, bracing himself for rejection. His eyes immediately snapped open, however, when he felt her hands gentle placed on top of his. He looked at her, and was shocked by the expression found there. She was smiling, and yet, it seemed so different than usual. Almost as if something had happened to increase her usual happiness. "I.I like you a lot too." She said gently, "And I want to be with you as long as I can. I want to love you as much as I can."  
  
Junior gently took her hands in his, clasping them, and his thumbs running down her hands in a soft caress. He never imagined that anything could feel so fragile and delicate and smooth, and yet seem to strong and full of warmth. They remained like that, looking into each other's eyes gently, neither really wanting to let go of the other.  
  
And neither of them noticed the android watching them from right outside the room, or noticed when she closed the door.  
  
KOS-MOS was at odds with this display. While she knew that there had always been some deep affection between the two, she herself could only calculate what she perceived to be the ideal of love to a certain extent. Love was, after all, the most illogical of human emotions. It had, seemingly, no rhyme or reason, and almost seemed to occur without any true event MAKING it occur. The best she could theorize was that the emotion was caused by a set of chemicals in the brain that didn't occur until some random moment, the brain ascribing the emotion of love to the first being it saw.  
  
Her thoughts were brought to a screeching halt as a gentle voice asked her "How's he doing?"  
  
She looked up to see the silver-haired member of their team, chaos. It was quite obvious by his demeanor that he was concerned, and she registered that as a normal reaction to the situation. "He has been recovering at the rate I had expected." She stated simply. She saw no need for idle chit- chat; her function was to get to the point in a discussion.  
  
He nodded slightly, obviously relieved to hear this news. "That's good to hear." He said happily. He began to turn around; he already knew that MOMO was with Junior; it was just another one of the things he could just do. He soon turned around and asked KOS-MOS, "If you could, would you mind doing me a favor?"  
  
She nodded. "I can carry out such a duty. I am currently not appointed to anything else, and thus, I have no priorities above this."  
  
"Well, you see..I've been missing a lot of pictures of mine lately, and.well..if you could, I'd appreciate if you'd tell me if you found them. I know that this seems pretty illogical to you, but they really do mean a lot to me."  
  
"Affirmative. I shall begin to perform a search of the ship in search of them."  
  
chaos smiled at her. "Thanks.I'd really appreciate that."  
  
(Second Miltia)  
  
Jin Uzuki wasn't expecting visitors. In truth, he really didn't have that many friends. He, personally, preferred the life of a loner and intellectual, thank you very much, and he intended to keep his life that way. That's why he wasn't sure what to make of the two men on his doorstep.  
  
"Please, sir, we're in desperate need of someplace to stay," the man in blue said, "and we don't have any money. However, we promise to make money to pay you back if you allow us to stay here for a little while."  
  
The white-haired man beside him snorted. "Please. Listen, may I suggest you DO comply with us, as giving us a place to stay WILL result in you getting to keep your life.probably."  
  
Jin didn't really seem too fazed by the last remark. "I'm sorry, it's just that I really don't enjoy the idea of letting strangers into my house."  
  
The man in blue sighed. "I understand sir. We'll just stay outside in the biting cold."  
  
"It's July." He told the stranger.  
  
"In the scorching heat," the man corrected, "trying to find a way to live off the land before we die in the streets. I'm sure you're a good man, so you should be able to live with the guilt. You SHOULD be able to, at least."  
  
Jin sighed. While he enjoyed the life of a loner, he found he couldn't turn down someone in need. "Come on in, I suppose, and make yourselves at home. I'll go make some tea."  
  
"Thank you sir." The man in blue replied as he and his partner entered the house. When Jin left the room, he turned to his companion and smirked. "Yeah..thank you s..UCKER!"  
  
Albedo laughed, finding that he could keep his cackle low enough so he couldn't be heard throughout the whole house. "I can't believe that worked! You're a frickin' genius!"  
  
Virgil smirked as he sat down on a couch in the front room. Most of the furniture was nice, but also looked old. In fact, the room reminded him of his grandma's house. "Of course it worked. As I told you, I have much more skill at something like this than you do."  
  
Albedo snorted as he sat down next to his compatriot. "Please, you flatter yourself too much. I could have come up with this."  
  
"And the reason you didn't is..?"  
  
"...Shut up."  
  
He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, smiling smugly. "I think that proves my point."  
  
The URTV decided not to pay anymore heed to his 'friend'. After a few more minutes of awkward silence between the two, Jin came in with a tray holding three cups of tea. He turned and said, "Hey, you have any video games?"  
  
"Well..no." he replied simply. "I'm really not that interested in electronic entertainment."  
  
"You don't play video games?" Albedo exclaimed in surprise, "How do you live, man?"  
  
"In case you didn't notice, he doesn't have a TV either."  
  
"What? This isn't a house, this is a death trap!" he shouted. He quickly turned on Virgil and pointed at him accusingly. "YOU tricked me into coming here, didn't you? You thought you'd lure me here under the false pretense that it was a house we could stay in for awhile, and then WHAM! You leave me to die in this hell hole!"  
  
"You know, I'd appreciate if you didn't call my house that.." Jin interjected, though this went unheeded.  
  
"Oh yes, Albedo, I tricked you by purposely bringing you to a death trap I didn't have any forward knowledge about. YOU GET A GUMBALL, MIKEY!" Virgil snapped back in reply.  
  
Albedo, however, had lost interest in the debate and decided to return to the original problem at hand: no television or videogames. "What do you do for entertainment around here?" he asked, bored.  
  
"Well.usually, I just sit back and read." Jin replied as he handed out the tea to his guests.  
  
Albedo took the cup of tea he was handed. "Read? Psh. Books are for nerds and geeks. That, and dummyfaces." He took a sip of the tea, and immediately spat it out.onto Jin.  
  
He grimaced and tried to sound calm when he responded. "You don't like the tea?" he stated. He was THIS close to losing it. "Oh, well sure I like it, it's good tea...if it's supposed to be crap flavored!"  
  
"Please excuse my friend." Virgil replied hastily, sensing Jin's impatience with the two. "He...well, he has some mental problems."  
  
Jin sighed. It looked like what he had feared was going to happen: his life was going to change. And, more than likely, the change wasn't going to be for the better.  
  
(The Elsa-KOS-MOS' Recharging Room)  
  
The android looked around carefully to make sure no one was in there with her. If anyone had been, they would have noticed how odd she was acting. It almost seemed as if she was trying to be sly, something that conflicted with her programming. Eventually, she decided that no one was with her and opened the door to the recharger.  
  
Her creator Shion, as well as most of the members of the group, would have been shocked by what was on the other side of the door. Within the crevices of it, she had placed several pictures. Some of the pictures looked relatively old; these usually featured two silver-haired boys with what KOS-MOS assumed to be their parents. One of the boys looked almost refined to an extreme degree; the other, the younger, didn't seem to be worried with his appearances exactly, and smiled much more than the older one. In the newer pictures, you could use them to identify the younger boy; these pictures were of chaos with the rest of the crew of the Elsa.  
  
KOS-MOS just continued to look at the pictures for a little, her eyes having turned a gentle blue. She didn't know WHAT it was, but when she viewed chaos, something within her programming seemed to conflict. It was almost if her logic drive ceased to function when he was around. Perhaps chaos was the reason she seemed to become more human; after all, she had determined long ago that he was more than human.  
  
Her eyes reverted to their usual red. Hadn't chaos asked her to FIND these pictures, and she had agreed even though she had been the one that had taken them in the first place? She had just violated a rule by stealing from a fellow member, something that was in direct opposition to what she was created to believe, and now she was not following a command to find them. However...hadn't chaos made it out to be a request? Perhaps..just perhaps, she could keep them awhile longer. In fact, she wouldn't have to TELL him where they were, or who had taken them.  
  
With that, she got in and shut the door behind her.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Author's Note: Hmm.while it was longer, I don't think this was as good as the first chapter. Ah well. If it isn't, I promise the next chapter will be better. You can also expect there to be quite a bit more KOS-MOS/chaos and eventually some Allen/Shion, and you'll see MOMO and Junior's relationship begin to expand. I'm not sure why, but I kept having this feeling to have Jin get mixed in with everything going on, and I did that by using Virgil and Albedo. And about them, you can expect the jokes about what I mentioned in the forward to the first chapter to happen relatively soon. Until then.  
  
Nathander 


	3. Love and Madness: Chapter Three

Chapter 3  
  
Gaignun sighed, his adopted "son" sitting across from his desk in one of the chairs that decorated the room. He wasn't exactly sure as HOW to present this to him, and felt an odd sense of discomfort about him being the one giving him such a speech. In all truth Rubedo was, after all, two years his senior. "Where to begin?" he said quietly, more to himself than anything else.  
  
In truth though, that didn't stop Junior from picking up on it. "How about you don't begin anywhere?" he said casually and, this part quite obvious, in irritation. "I really don't need to go throw a talk about this."  
  
"I think you do, and you will get it." He replied in a commanding voice. He supposed looking older (and being higher up in position) did have quite a few perks. He felt a bit of satisfaction (and, oddly enough, guilt) when the red-haired URTV remained seated, though obviously having to force himself to do so. "Junior, you know just as well as I why we can't really allow this to happen."  
  
"No, I don't." he stated simply and coldly. "Tell me, why CAN'T we? Don't I deserve the same kind of attention as you do?"  
  
He sighed once more. "Junior, please. We all ready have enough curiousity and speculation around you being my 'son'. The last thing we need is for you to start a relationship with someone, as THAT would provide the media a feeding frenzy."  
  
"So what?" Junior said indignantly, though he was able to keep at least a bit of his civility. "We OWN the media, Gaignun. You know that just as well as I do."  
  
"We do. But we can't CONTROL everything they report. You know what people would say about that." He was clutching his hands together hard now, the knuckles turning white. God, why did he have to be so stubborn. "Not only that, but the girl you wish to go out with is a Realian...a prototype 100 series that's modeled after Sakura Mizrahi..."  
  
Junior's eyes bulged slightly, and his mouth contorted into a semi-snarl. "Oh, I see where this is going!"  
  
He knew it would be painful, but Gaignun kept himself on his original course, "who was the daughter of the scientist Joachim Mizrahi."  
  
"You aren't proving anything Gaignun! Not a damn thing!" he shouted in fury. "Why do you seem to think the public will even know who she is?"  
  
'NOW here comes the tricky part..' He thought to himself before replying, "The Miltian Government has already made the announcement that she's with us, as well as having shown a picture provided by Juli Mizrahi."  
  
The 'boy's' mouth hung open for a moment, a slightly comic sight. That was, until his jaw began to quiver with rage. "They..what!"  
  
"Please, Junior, let me finish." He said in exasperation. It was quite obvious that Junior planned to try to get his way by using the childish side of his personality to its full extent. "They announced this to help give evidence to the Federation..."  
  
"WHO ALREADY KNEW WE HAD.."  
  
"Junior!"  
  
Junior, who had gotten out of his chair while he was yelling, grudgingly sat back down. "They gave it as evidence to the Federation to PROVE we were not a threat but were, in fact, AIDING there cause by having secured an object that was acquired by the U-TIC. This testimony, as well as one provided by Vector Industries who was present at the time, has given us safe guard from the Federation and caused them to drop all charges."  
  
"Why'd you call her that?"  
  
"Why'd I call who what?"  
  
"An object." He said flatly. While he seemed impassive, Gaignun could tell by his thoughts (which Junior was, once again, being careless not to safe guard against him) he was near the verge of going on a verbal rampage. "You addressed MOMO as an object." He clenched his hands just as hard as Gaignun had clenched his. "I take the greatest offense to that."  
  
Gaignun had found that he'd been sighing quite a bit recently, and thought nothing of adding another to the list. "You know what I mean, Junior."  
  
He paused for a moment, and than Gaignun saw with great relief that he was loosening up. He was surprised, however, by the amount of sadness that came with what Junior said next. "It's not fair..."  
  
His eyes softened just a bit as he looked at the 'boy' that was actually his senior, at least age wise. "No...it's not fair."  
  
Gaignun began to grow increasingly alarmed as Junior's chest heaved gently, trying to keep himself from sobbing. It was, in all truth, one of the few moments were he had seen the URTV in a position that could be described as vulnerability. "You..you're attractive to girls. I'm not." The red-haired boy stated, his voice cracking under the stress of keeping himself from crying. "When they see me, they don't see the real me...you see? All they see is a cute little boy, and that's ALL they ever see me as. But..that's NOT what I want to be seen as. I want to be seen as who I really am, and most the people here refuse to acknowledge me for what I am. But than I find someone who does, and I can't be with her." He managed a small snicker as a few tears gently rolled down his cheeks. "This kind of situation hurts like a bitch, I can tell you."  
  
"Rubedo..." he said gently. It was only in very precarious situations that Gaignun would find himself referring to his friend by his given name. He slowly approached him and put his arm on his shoulder, looking him in the eyes. While he loved his friend (who, was in truth, could be considered a brother), he knew that he could, when he wanted to, be manipulative and sly. This could be a trick to merely get his way, and to even read Rubedo's mind at this time could be quite tricky. However, his eyes were a different story. He had found that he could almost see the boy's spirit within his very eyes.  
  
And he, to his relief, found honesty in them at this time, the playful light that could be commonly found there dub-downed some by the moistness that had come. He gave off another sigh (and decided it could, perhaps, become his trademark) and told his friend "Listen...I'm willing to make a deal with you." Rubedo looked at him gently, obviously ready to listen. "Here's what I'll do: you CAN pursue this relationship....but you have to PROMISE me you'll be responsible about it. Can you promise me that?"  
  
Rubedo wiped his eyes with his sleeve and gave off one last sniff, a gesture that would be considered quite common of a child who's mentality was similar to that of his physical appearance. He nodded slightly before stating "Yeah...yeah, I can do that easy."  
  
"And I have your utmost trust on this?"  
  
"Yes. I'll give you my word right here and now, and that's something I don't give lightly."  
  
Gaignun pondered this over for a minute before finally stating "Then you have my blessing."  
  
(The Elsa-Shion's Room)  
  
"It's sort of hard to explain, and I don't expect you to understand..." Shion started off, sitting on her bed crossed legged.  
  
"That's a nice way to start off." Allen replied, sitting on a chair across from her. He had always wanted to be in a bedroom alone with Shion, though granted, under different circumstances. He had his arms propped up on the head of the chair, sitting on it backwards.  
  
Shion smiled, quite a bit nervous to tell the truth. "Well...it's not everyday I have to tell someone my feelings about another girl and her crush on someone."  
  
It had only been a few minutes ago when MOMO, happy as could be, went and found Shion to tell her of everything that had happened. Within the short time they had been together, the young Realian had looked towards the female scientist as an older sister. To her, it had made perfect sense that she (after Ziggy) should be the first one to find out how well everything had gone.  
  
And, surprisingly, that was the problem for Shion.  
  
"I never had a sister." She began. "Not even a younger sibling. Of course, I had an older brother, but he was...well...let's just say he didn't fit the mold of the regular older brother very well." She proclaimed with a short, slight chuckle. "I mean, he took care of me and was loving, of course...but.." she sighed; like so many other things from her past, she hated to think of this. "Both my parents died during the Miltian Conflict." She stated flatly.  
  
"Chief, I'm..." he began, apologeticly, before she stopped him.  
  
"Please, let me continue." She said. "My brother was determined to keep us together...and he forced himself to grow up rapidly. He worked several odd jobs, so I barely ever saw him. When I reached fifteen, I started working too, though he told me he didn't want me to." She told him this with a gentle, wry smile crossing her lips, holding both a warm sense of nostalgia and, to a minor extent, sibling rivalry. "In fact, he wouldn't let me use my OWN money, that I had EARNED, to go to college. He paid for it himself."  
  
He smiled, thinking he understood. "He took the role of both parent and brother upon himself."  
  
She nodded. "Exactly..and it irritated me to no end." She sighed, and her eyes gained a bit of unhappiness. "When I left...he became more distant to the world, as if he was trying to totally forsake it. He'd live within the world of the books he read, usually only going out when he found it necessary. He immersed himself in a world of fantasy, chivalry, and sword- play, studying kendo as often as possible when he had free time."  
  
"Chief, I know this means a lot to you.." Allen stated. He knew this was going to run the gauntlet of possibly sounding cruel, but he thought it would possibly be best for him to get Shion back on track. "But where exactly is this going with the situation with MOMO?"  
  
Shion scratched the back of her head gently as she continued. "Well, I know how a sibling is to act, per se, but not exactly an older sibling because my own was so.."  
  
"Unnatural?"  
  
She nodded. "That may be one of the best ways to put it, yes." The scientist replied. "I want to try to teach her everything about growing up. I know it sounds stupid, considering she can't grow up physically, but mentally...I think THAT'S where she'll continue to grow. I want to get her to know everything she needs to; proper manners, schooling, necessities, plain growing up..including boys." She told him this last part looking down at her feet, as if the mention of it even made her nervous.  
  
He tilted his head quizzically slightly. The Chief was, more often than not, usually well spoken and unnervous. But this topic... "What's wrong, Chief? You've had a boyfriend before.."  
  
"Well, that can be put with the over-used phrase 'yes' and 'no'." the Chief told him, still looking at her feet and a bit nervous. "I loved Kevin....well, maybe 'had a crush on' would be more well-put..., but it was sort of one sided. And when I was a kid, boys generally didn't like me." She began to smile wryly again. "And those who did usually got chased off."  
  
"By your brother?"  
  
"He took the idea of the over-protective brother and also mixed it with the paternal instincts of the over-protective father. This was....not a pretty sight." She began to giggle lightly, as if she had fond memories of this as well, and than stopped and sighed. "But no, I've never had a real boyfriend. I doubt I ever will."  
  
He was shocked. How could the Chief say that about herself? She was, easily, the most wonderful person he had ever met. He got up from the chair he had been sitting on and sat down beside her. "C'mon Chief, don't be like that. You're a wonderful person, much better than a lot of other girls there are. You're smart, attractive, funny, eager....a little over eager, but still....and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot and can burn in hell for all you or anyone else should care!"  
  
Shion looked over her shoulder at him, and he was surprised what he saw. The usually strong expression she wore was now replaced with a look of utter vulnerability. She had, reminiscing on the past, gotten herself upset. "You think so?" she said in a voice he had only heard one time before, that being when Junior had taken them to the beach and showed them the weather simulation, and her ending up cowering due to the sound of thunder.  
  
"I know so." He said, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. He found himself, instead, falling face-first onto the place where Shion had been sitting just a moment before, due to the fact that she was no longer there. Allen's attempt at chivalry had, unfortunately for him, been dashed when the e-mail function of the UMN screen next to the bed rang. Shion immediately going towards it and her previous vulnerability seemingly having disappeared quickly, the prospect of getting a new e-mail more comforting than what he had been able to do.  
  
Originally excited, Shion's mood began to change back as she continued to read the e-mail. After she finished, she sighed and placed one of her hands on her forehead.  
  
"Chief, what's wrong?" Allen asked, a little perturbed with what had just happened, but still wanting to make sure everything was all right.  
  
"Wilhelm." she said in exasperation. While she admired her employer for his intelligence and cunning that had led to his position, he was a bit...eccentric, especially when it came to many of his people skills. "He wants to see us."  
  
Allen shuddered slightly. "Oh God...do you remember the last meeting between him and employees?"  
  
"Yes." She said, partially in a sigh. "They were picking bits of flesh and cloth out of the walls for days."  
  
(Miltia-Jin Uzuki's Residence)  
  
"WHERE THE HELL IS IT?!?" the white-haired URTV shouted in fury before throwing one of the folding chairs out a window, the sound of smashing glass and splitting wood accompanying it.  
  
Jin Uzuki sighed in frustration. His current...guests weren't especially well mannered, tempered...or even that good at taking care of THEMSELVES. "Care to explain why you just did that, Albedo?" he asked, trying to hide his irritation.  
  
"You know why I had to do that!"  
  
"No, why DID you have to do that?" his second guest, the man in the blue robes, said. This one, however, had just finished showering and currently only had a towel around his waist, as well as a cup of coffee that Jin could only assumed he had stolen from his pantry.  
  
"My guitar is missing." Albedo said in snorting wheezes of anger. "And if I don't find it, oh, well there'll be hell to pay!"  
  
"Have you looked in the waste disposal unit?" Virgil asked.  
  
"Why would I look there?"  
  
He smirked as he brought the coffee cup to his lips. "That's where things that usually annoy me end up."  
  
"You didn't..." Jin said, jaw agape. Surely his guests weren't so stupid as to go and ruin such an oddity (That was, to him, precious) by shoving an instrument down it.  
  
"YOU BASTARD!!!" Albedo screamed in fury. His hands went up to his head and began to tug viciously on it, as if he was trying to unscrew it.  
  
"..............What is he doing?" Jin asked, his surprised anger having turned to odd amusement and puzzlement.  
  
Virgil just sighed. "You're acting like a child." He stated in an almost parent-like tone, obviously not amused with this display of self- punishment. "Do you think that ripping your head off is going to really bring the guitar back?"  
  
"Ripping his head oooooooooooOH sweet merciful god!" The elder Uzuki screamed in horror as the URTV did, indeed, succeed in detaching his head from his body. His head had begun to swim as he fought the temptation to faint. This battle wasn't made any easier when the white-haired guest proceeded to throw his head at his other guest, who nimbly dodged it. This caused the head to land with a hard thump, and the man in the towel quickly crushed it under his foot. "Ex..excuse m.....me....." he struggled to say, attempting to sound polite as he got ready to make a dash to the restroom to throw up.  
  
Instead, he looked in puzzlement as Albedo's head begun to grow back. While it truly didn't do much to calm it down, it was enough to interest him in what was now happening. "How could you have possibly done that?" he stated simply, more to himself than to the guest he currently had.  
  
"I'm God." He told him simply and flatly, not really seeing anything wrong with the statement.  
  
"Huh..okay." Jin replied to the answer he was given. He quickly took Virgil by the arm and, leading him around the corner, pinned him against the side of the other wall. "Okay, enough of this...this BULLSHIT." He told him quietly and, in what he hoped, was a commanding and threatening voice. "I want to know what's going on, and I want to know it right now! I let you two in here last night, being gracious by not really asking any questions, so I think I DO deserve a few answers."  
  
"Well, Albedo is a URTV, a special government weapon made during the Miltian Conflict, and I'm a man who was once killed and was brought back to life as a creature that's half-gnosis and works, basically, as a nullifier if Albedo does something insanely, insanely stupid. Mind letting me down now?" the blond-haired man told him simply.  
  
Jin did such, though grudgingly. The answers themselves really didn't help much at all. "So, you mean to tell me that THAT is a government weapon?" he said, pointing around the corner to Albedo who had seemingly just now discovered the wonders of Jin's fire place and the logs there within. That doesn't mean, of course, he knew yet how to USE the fire place; having tried several other things, including yelling at the logs, he had resorted to slamming a log against another and shouting 'Start, stupid, start!'  
  
"Yeah, he's dumb as hell, isn't he?" Virgil asked, in a way agreeing with their host. "Still....it's the truth."  
  
"Okay then, just one last question." He said, scratching the back of his head. He knew this was pushing it, but he had to know. "Are you two....y'know.....gay?"  
  
"Hell no." Virgil uttered in a low, angry tone.  
  
"Hey, I'm not trying to be crude. In fact, there's nothing wrong with being gay."  
  
"Good. But I'm not."  
  
"So why do you stay with him.......other than the whole making sure he doesn't make a complete and utter ass out of himself thing? Truthfully, there has to be something else there that's kept you with him."  
  
He had to think on that one. What in God's name WAS it that kept him from going and killing that white-haired idiot? True, he was a useful combatant, but his lack of common sense and plain sociopathy and insanity ruled that out.  
  
"Aw, screw it." Albedo cursed to himself and, using his will, set the log ablaze in his hand as the green energy rolled over it. "Success!" he shouted in triumph, lifting it up to the sky.  
  
Still, he had to admit there was some spark there within him that seemed appealing. He really couldn't put his finger on it, but it seemed as if there was a need for.........  
  
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! IT BURNS LIKE.......LIKE FIRE!!!" the URTV screamed out in terror and pain as his hand was engulfed in flames. He began to immediately try to put it out by bashing it against the couch, to which Jin immediately ran in to help him, though it was more out of concern for the couch.  
  
Virgil sighed as he went to help. He knew what it was; he always seemed to need someone there to make sure he didn't get killed.  
  
(The Elsa-Cafeteria)  
  
Junior smiled happily as MOMO giggled, glad that he could make her laugh. He had decided that it would be easier to ask her this in an environment that she was completely comfortable with. He had also asked that he be allowed to be left alone with her when he asked her, and chaos had agreed to help keep people out of the room. Ziggy had as well, though only after a bit of prodding from chaos that everything would be alright. "MOMO?" he asked, his usual overconfidence uncharacteristically diminished, and that showed in his voice.  
  
"Yes Junior?" she said, tilting her head quizzically to the left.  
  
"I was wondering...." He began, tracing his finger along the surface of the table they were sitting at, "well...........I was wondering......would you like to go out on a date with me tomorrow?" he finally got the words out, though he struggled and, at the end, hung his head a little low to hide that his was blushing and the fact that he himself was still a bit shy.  
  
MOMO followed suit, her cheeks brightly ablaze with a gentle blush and her heart beating rapidly. She had expected this, eventually, but not yet. Was she ready for this? Could she do this without seeming like a little child and being able to act in a situation that would seem properly matched with Junior's mature side when it showed up?  
  
While doubt gnawed at her, she found them being counteracted by her usual optimism. While they had, only yesterday, admitted to each other how they felt about each other, perhaps that WOULD be a good time to begin, to show each other they really, seriously, wanted this to work. Her cheeks blushed even brighter at her next thought; maybe they'd get to kiss sooner than she thought.  
  
She lifted her head up, ready to give her response.  
  
(The Elsa-Outside the Cafeteria)  
  
Ziggy, his arms crossed over his chest, tapped his foot in irritation and, in all truth, nervousness. chaos, sensing his distress, smiled slightly. "There's nothing to worry about. Junior would never do anything to hurt her."  
  
"I'm afraid that, this itself, goes against my programming to leave her completely alone with another individual." He replied to the teen simply, not raising his head, which had seemingly become fascinated with looking down at his foot.  
  
"That's a lie, and you know it. You allowed MOMO to go alone to the park and allowed her to be alone with Shion and KOS-MOS." He prodded gently, though not enough to offend his friend.  
  
"A bodyguard always feels more nervous when he's afraid it's the one he's looking after to be the one to actually make the first move." He told him in a dull, plain voice.  
  
chaos was, at first, taken aback, though he didn't show it. In his mind, the last statement came off to him as a joke. While there was the possibility that the cyborg was actually deadly serious, and he'd treat it like that, he decided that deep down he'd treat it like a joke.  
  
(The Elsa-Cafeteria)  
  
"And we'll go to a restaurant together?" the strawberry-haired Realian asked excitedly, smiling, her hands held gently in her loved one's.  
  
The two's original apprehension had turned into enthusiasm and, to some extent, childish excitement. He gave her his usual smile nodding. "Of course! Anything you want to do MOMO, we'll go and do!"  
  
He ment it to. More than anything, he wanted to see the little Realian happy. He himself had been afraid that, at one point, his feelings were totally self-serving, merely a form of want looking to hold on to and latch upon the first thing of interest that came along, wanting to love because that's the way it 'should' be. But something became clear to him now: he didn't matter, SHE did. Just to see her smile was, to him, a gentle kiss.  
  
"Even dancing?" she said more enthusiastically than the rest. That had been something she always had found interest in. It had seemed like something that marked the pinnacle of romance, and she was eager to participate in that herself.  
  
"Sure!" he told her, still grinning though inside his mind was working furiously. He himself had never been dancing, and as to how he'd learn to by whenever they decided to go on a date was beyond him. But one thing was for certain: he WOULD learn. He'd be damned before he came out looking like an idiot, especially in front of her and embarrassing her.  
  
Her smile stayed on her face, though it began to change in a way. Junior himself couldn't quite put his finger on it, though he understood when she closed her eyes and gently stuck out her lips.  
  
She wanted him to kiss her.  
  
Now it was his turn to freeze. He had always considered himself a ladies' man, but he had never once kissed, not even on the cheek. Did he dare take this plunge? He knew that, if he wanted this to last, this moment would be inevitable. But.....now? Right here and now? What if he somehow did it wrong?  
  
'Don't leave her waiting, you idiot!' a voice shouted out in his head.  
  
He knew he shouldn't, other wise she'd get discouraged. And, looking at her, he knew that HE couldn't resist any longer. He gently placed his against hers, surprised by her little gasp though not breaking it. He squeezed her hands a bit tighter, and she did the same, relishing the feeling of their first kiss together. After a moment, they broke the kiss off and, both blushing, smiled.  
  
"I liked that." MOMO said in a gentle voice, shyly though content.  
  
Junior smiled back, not letting her hands go. "I did too."  
  
(The Elsa-Outside the Cafeteria)  
  
chaos was the first to hear the footsteps coming down towards the corridor, though Ziggy was quick to follow suit. Looking at them, you'd think they were both ready for trouble other than just asking someone not to come into the room.  
  
Both relaxed considerably when they remembered where they were due to the fact that the one coming around the corner was KOS-MOS. "Shion said that I would be able to locate you within this area." KOS-MOS stated simply to chaos.  
  
"Yeah." chaos said. He gave her a smile and scratched the back of his head. "We're....well, we're...."  
  
"Shion explained. She has told me of the current situation between Junior and MOMO and the wish for privacy. I acknowledge such a human need as a necessity and, thus, have no desire to alienate such a thing. However, I believe that these are of interest to you." She told chaos in her monotone voice, walking towards him and eventually holding two slender pieces of what appeared to be paper.  
  
"Oh, why thank you." chaos said as he took them from her. His original look of interest turned to one of shock as he saw what they were. "KOS- MOS....." He tried to tell her, unable to believe what was before him. "KOS-MOS, these are-"  
  
"They are what you asked for, are they not?"  
  
He nodded his head lightly. "They......they are, or at least they're some of them. KOS-MOS.........thank you so much."  
  
"You are welcome. I am glad that I could be of service. May I ask one question of them though?"  
  
"You may." He said. He chuckled slightly. "I'd be amazingly ungrateful if I said you couldn't."  
  
"Who is the other boy with you in those photos?" she inquired. While her voice didn't change, she truly WAS interested. She had a feeling that she somehow knew the other boy as well.  
  
She regretted she had asked. When she did, she could see chaos stiffen considerably. Ziggy took notice of well, having looked at the photos over the boy's shoulder. "He's........my brother." The silver-haired young man told her, the usual cheerfulness replaced with a dull, almost monotonous sound, as if telling them of his brother was more of an automatic reaction than one he really cared to think of.  
  
"Affirmative. Thank you." She replied, an odd sensation sweeping over her. She was content to have let her question be asked and answered, but she also felt..........an odd unhappiness. By asking, she had caused chaos some form of pain. If this was a reaction, perhaps it was best if he DIDN'T get the rest of his pictures back. Feeling more uncomfortable by the minute, she left.  
  
(Vector HQ-Outside Wilhelm's Office)  
  
"Well........ready?" Shion asked her companion.  
  
"Might as well get it over with." Allen answered in a sigh.  
  
She nodded and slowly began to outstretch her hand, eventually grabbing ahold of the knob. She began to turn it as if it was a laborious task, the click of the mechanism eventually resounding. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.  
  
"Allen, Shion, come in." their boss invited, smiling, an odd feature for him to currently be wearing upon his face.  
  
Looking at each other nervously, the two entered and took a seat. "You wanted to see us sir?" Shion asked first.  
  
"Yes. I'd appreciate it if you two could stay her for awhile. But first, I have a few questions." He told her, handing them both a form. The form looked like this:  
  
QUESTIONNARE FOR VECTOR INDUSTRIES' "THING WHERE I HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOUR ASS" EVENT  
  
1) If you were shot between the eyes at close range with a shotgun, you would: Laugh and retaliate with some sort of super attack Run around screaming Alert the authorities Die  
  
2) If you were stepped on by an elephant, you would: Rip the elephant's leg off Push the elephant's leg off of you Call it bad names and make it cry Die  
  
3) If you were to fall into a pit of spikes, how long would it take for you to lose all your blood?: 5 Seconds 10 Seconds 15 Seconds Long enough to have been able to first alert the authorities  
  
4) Have you told everyone you know about the wonderful products made by VECTOR INDUSTRIES?: Yes No  
  
5) If no, why not?: I'm mentally-retarded (AKA, I work for the creativity, marketing, and managing department(s)) and am thus unaccountable for my actions It slipped my mind and I would repent and do so if given the chance What the hell is Vector? Is it foodable? I wish for a slow painful death at the hands of the god-in-man-form known as Wilhelm  
  
SEE NEXT FORM  
  
"Uh, excuse me sir, but how many forms are there?" Allen asked carefully, hoping he wouldn't be killed right here, right now.  
  
"Twelve." Wilhelm stated simply. "Now, lets talk about your insurance, how many people know you're here, and any surviving family you may have."  
  
(Second Miltia-Jin's Residence)  
  
"Goddamn elements, screwin' with me all the time..." Albedo muttered to himself angrily. He massaged the currently bandaged, severely burnt hand carefully. He'd see that the fireplace would get his in good time. Oh, he'd make sure of that.  
  
"Yes, we all know how that could've happened to anyone." Virgil replied to him bitingly. How stupid could his partner be?  
  
"I've only known you two for a day, and your fighting has already worn my nerves." Jin said unhappily. And he was telling the truth. By now, he didn't care if he sounded rude or not; he wanted them out.  
  
"Hey.......shut your mouth, dingus." The white-haired URTV told his host. "Can YOU play 'C is for Cookie' on an electric guitar?" he sneered. "I thought not!"  
  
"Neither can you."  
  
"SHUT UP VIRGIL!"  
  
"I don't know about 'C is for Cookie'," he said dryly, "but I CAN play a guitar."  
  
"Oh, is that so?" Albedo stated in a mocking tone. "Well then, by all means little Mister McFuckin'Saint, play us a cord! Virgil, give him your guitar!"  
  
Shrugging, knowing his accomplice had nothing better to do than make an ass of himself, Virgil lightly tossed Jin the guitar. He caught it with ease and began to play a few simple cords.  
  
"Oh, well gee, thanks for that amazing display of skill!" he spat out angrily towards his host, still massaging his fire-scared hand.  
  
Jin glared at him. He knew he shouldn't let him get to him, that he shouldn't give in to his mere primal instincts..  
  
But this time he thought it would be fine.  
  
The simple cords began to form into a song, one he had heard long ago but usually replayed in his mind. He knew the name, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", though he couldn't remember the name of the band. Supposed that, if he didn't, they really weren't worth remembering anyway. His fingers sang as they went along the strings of the guitar, the sound filling the room.  
  
"Oh, well that's not to-" the ungrateful guest began.  
  
He was soon cut off, however, as Jin launched into a completely different song. This one was famous among the few guitar players left, it's simple name, "Stairway to Heaven", masking a complex song. The song was played at a perfect pace, the notes coming one after another. That was, until Albedo snatched the guitar with his good hand and bashed it to pieces against the ground.  
  
"Who's got the talent now?!?" he shouted out in anger. "Huh? Who's got it now?!?"  
  
(The Elsa-chaos' Quarters)  
  
"You know that you're always welcome to come to me, Junior." chaos said to his young friend who was sitting across from him on his bed. The boy had already told him that he and MOMO had planned to go on a date (tomorrow, of course, due to their excitement) and that they had shared their first kiss in the cafeteria. He was, in all truth, excited for the two; there was nothing the young man enjoyed more than to see love sprout and then grow.  
  
Junior dangled his legs over the bed nervously, hoping this wouldn't be pushing it too far. "Well, this is going to sound really weird, but......" he began, crossing his fingers that he'd take this well, "well, I already ordered MOMO a dress for the date."  
  
"Within two hours?" chaos said, more surprised than anything. Whatever he did, Junior seemed to usually take it seriously.......well, as seriously as you could while doing it in the least required amount of time.  
  
"Heh, yeah....." Junior said, a little abashed. "Anyways, I had forgot that I have to attend a stockholder's meeting that afternoon, so I won't be able to pick it up when its ready. So, I was wondering-"  
  
"Would I mind picking it up for you?" the teen said, smiling gentle. "No problem at all. I'd be glad to."  
  
"Thanks." Junior sighed out in relief. "I was sort of afraid you'd take offense to me asking."  
  
"Not really." He said, shrugging. "It was a simple enough request and it doesn't really take anything out of my schedule; I had been meaning to take a walk around and get out of the ship for awhile anyway. Still, I'd appreciate it if you'd take more consideration into something before you do it."  
  
Without expecting it, the door to the room opened. "If it would help, I would be glad to accompany you." KOS-MOS said, standing in the doorway.  
  
For a moment, bot the boys were speechless. Finally, chaos said, with a bit of confusion "KOS-MOS?"  
  
"Yes?" she replied to him in her usual monotone voice.  
  
"Were you listening in on us?" he inquired in puzzlement, his brow furrowing. Could she even DO that? He'd have thought that something like that would have violated one of her directives, the one she had stated earlier about privacy.  
  
"I had come to tell you that my continued search for your photographs has, unfortunately, so far proven unsuccessful. I had come to request more possible descriptions of them and, upon getting near the door, my sensors that emulate hearing picked up on your voices. Me hearing your discussion was merely an error due to my programming. I did not leave because I had decided the most polite and logical thing to do would be to wait patiently for you two to finish your discussion."  
  
"'kay......" the red-haired URTV began, irritated that he had been overheard trying to give what he considered a personal request to a friend, "So the reason you just opened the door out of nowhere was because.....?"  
  
"Due to the current pitch and wave of your voices, I had decided that the discussion had come to its end. If I was mistaken, then I apologize and I will have this glitch in my system fixed once Shion returns."  
  
"Eh, it's fine." Junior stated, deciding he might as well let it go. He didn't see any advantage he could possibly possess in an argument against an android. "We're done."  
  
She nodded, showing she understood that she hadn't done anything wrong. "Understood." She turned to chaos. "Do you request me to accompany you?" she asked again.  
  
"Sure." chaos said. He smiled at her, "And..........well, thanks KOS-MOS. I really appreciate this kind of assistance."  
  
"You're welcome." She told him simply. "I will see you when we are ready to go tomorrow then." She stated, her voice unchanging as she left.  
  
"There's been something odd going on in her recently, hasn't there?" Rubedo asked his friend, leaning forward a little on the bed.  
  
The silver-haired youth, though he didn't move, agreed. "Yes, it's become especially obvious. She's beginning to reject some of her programming and progressively becoming more human, though slowly."  
  
"But why? What could cause that?" the red-haired child inquired. While he considered himself a semi-intellectual, he wouldn't pretend to know things he really didn't.  
  
"I think I may know," he began, smiling gently, "but I'm not one to jump to conclusions."  
  
"Unlike me?" he said, smirking playfully.  
  
He chuckled, "Yes, unlike you, I suppose." He turned to him, he's smile the common gentle one, though one that also seemed to contain an odd sense of contentment, as if thinking on something he had wanted awhile. And that said to Junior all he really need to know.  
  
Author's Note: Before you all scream out "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!?", let me explain things. First, school TRULY is a bitch for the most part. One thing that is an especially good example of this is Geometry, which I had to take a lot of time (and tutoring) to really get. Secondly, I do have a life beyond writing fanfics, that being playing videogames. Still, that's inexcusable for how long this took and due to how this didn't live up to the standards (at least in my mind) of the first two chapters. But keep in mind that I AM relatively new to writing romance, and thus, this will (hopefully) get better as it goes on. And it will go on for quite a bit: I have the story planned out for the most part, the current total chapter amount being nine chapters (so there'll be six more chapters). That's another thing that was somewhat a boundary. I had written a whole outline of what I had planned upon completing chapter two. While this seemed like a good idea (and was), more ideas came into my head for things that I wanted to include that I HADN'T put in the outline. Thus, some scenes from my initial outline have been cut, and I plan to incorporate some of the new ideas. More than likely, when I finish this fanfic, I will make a 'special' last chapter that contains the scenes that were cut. Like a DVD special feature for a fanfic that I incorporated to help my self- esteem. As always, I would appreciate reviews. While I'll continue to work on this fanfic regardless of whether or not I get reviews, a kind word always helps for encouragement, as well as being able to see what people actually think (including flames and creative criticism). Finally, under this author's note you will find a Dedication. Perhaps it seems odd to place such a thing at the end of a fanfic, especially a romantic comedy, but I would truly appreciate it if you would read it. I told a friend of mine I planned to do this, and I think it would mean a lot to him (and the person this is for) if I put it here. I had planned to do a dedication in some form, and to me, this seemed the easiest way to do it: writing my feelings at the end of a chapter of my work, and the work I've come to hold most dear and want to finish. As I promised you Kage, this is for Mia.  
  
DEDICATION: I won't claim my memory to be perfect, but I (believe) I joined the Xenosaga Forums in late August, early-mid September. I myself had been a member at other boards before hand, but had never really found much welcome or a place there. It was when I got to the XS Forum that I found myself truly beginning to enjoy a board and its community and feel for it. A big reason for this was of the several friends I had made (especially Miyuki, Bahamut, yoshimitsu, Pyro Kitty, and jessip as the first) who had helped me along. These people began to really touch me, and I found myself caring and thinking about them a good deal of the time. A notable acquaintance was MiaMercury, who was a friend of Miyuki's who I, unfortunately, was never able to really get to know that well. This aside, from what I saw of her, Mia was a kind, compassionate young woman who wasn't afraid to show love, a trait that (I, at least, think) needs to be more predominant among people. She was a sweet, sensitive girl who had several friends and a boyfriend, KageFuuinVugtis, both of whom loved each other dearly. I don't know all the details of what happened, so I can't claim to know what happened to the exact fine points. Because of this, I believe it would be easiest to say this next part bluntly and simply. If this seems cruel, I don't mean it to be, and I ask forgiveness if it is, but it is the easiest way without me trying to make up details and stretching the truth to the point of it being nonsense. When walking home, Mia was abducted and murdered. Was there any real reason other than the obvious fact that the man who did such suffered from some form or another of psychopathy? I don't know, nor do I truly want to. What I do know is the result of this senseless, animalistic action: a sweet girl, who had nothing but love to give, was killed for absolutely no reason or purpose other than for a disillusioned monster who used murder to get his jollies. It is these kinds of people who have helped reverse the flow of society and given into animal-like instincts that ruin the world, and that's a reason I support the death penalty for the most part. But I'm going off onto a subject that doesn't need to be discussed, and I shall return to the true matter at hand. Talking with her friends, seeing the love that was for her at the XS Forum, I regret that I never got to know her. I've become friends with Kage, to whom I apologize this taking so long to be put up and written and, more than likely, being inadequate to honor a wonderful girl like Mia. And why should I honor her? I didn't know her, didn't even really talk to her over the internet. What right do I have to even attempt to honor her? Because she deserves to be honored. Though I've only looked upon a few of her posts and heard of her, her actions of kindness and love speak louder to me than those of many people I have met in real life. To think that such a person, such a pure soul and innocent to be murdered in her young age, is a travesty. Such a thing must be heard, that good people have existed, will continue to exist. And it must be pointed out that that good can be taken from us without any real reason other than plain, crude acts of maliciousness. Since they cannot stay with us forever, we must remember them in any way we can: our hearts, our minds, our memories, and, in my case, through writing. While I know this is nowhere near worthy of being considered an honor to Mia, I tried. I did my best, and quite possibly I failed. But I HAD to talk about her, about this person that I just barely missed meeting, this wonderful person. Some may think it foolishness, but I believe in a Paradise after death. I believe that Mia is there. Even though we didn't share the same religious beliefs, I believe Mia is there. When I get there, should I get there, I want to meet her. I want to talk to her, to get the chance to make up for the fact I was unable to meet such a wonderful person in the primal plain. I want to shake her hand. Though such an honor be far above me and far more than I deserve, I want to get to shake her hand and tell her of the lives she's touched.  
  
And that she continued to touch them after she was gone.  
  
[i]In loving memory of MiaMercury[/i] 


End file.
